For whatever reason, Fu*ked up canceled their show last night. You would have known that before you went out had you been “following” me on Twitter or read my webboard. And you’d figure there’s a good chance for even more cancellations tonight, but I doubt it. Every show is a local show, and let’s be honest, it’s only supposed to be six or eight inches. It is, after all, winter.

So the question becomes where would you want to be on a snowy night in Omaha? Top of the list may be The 49’r, where The Filter Kings are playing with The Killigans and Making Movies. Few bars are as ski-lodge cozy as the Niner on snowy nights. The bar’s website is showing an 8 p.m. start time, but no word on the cover.

There’s a benefit show down at The Bemis Underground featuring a slew of Slumber Party Records bands including Capgun Coup, Bear Country and Honeybee, along with the toughest trio in Omaha, Box Elders. Tickets are $13 for non-members, $7 for members, and the show starts at 9. For more info, go to bemiscenter.org.

Over at O’Leaver’s, Speed! Nebraska recording artist The Third Men is playing with No Blood Orphan. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Saddle Creek Bar is going punk with crazy-ass Officially Terminated, ska-boys Eastern Turkish and classic ’80s thrashers Cordial Spew. $5, 9 p.m.

Sarah Benck and The Robbers are playing their last show under that moniker tonight at Slowdown Jr. with Bonne Finken and The Ground Tyrants. $7, 9 p.m.

Reagan and the Rayguns are playing at The Waiting Room tonight with Jessica Errett Band and Vago. $7, 9 p.m.

Black Squirrels, Goodbye Sunday and Tsumi are at Barley Street. $4, 9 p.m.

Valentine’s Day (Saturday) is highlighted by the It’s True CD release show at The Barley Street Tavern with Cat Island (also celebrating a CD release on Slo-Fi), Kyle & Kat, Ben Seiff and John Klemmensen. $5, 9 p.m.

If I hear of cancellations, I’ll pass them on via Twitter.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Column 209: A Simple Truth
Adam Hawkins embraces reality.

Adam Hawkins has lived through some bad shit. It was self-inflicted shit, it was some dumb shit, but it was shit nonetheless and he lived through it. And maybe too much has been made of it, at least to me.

When I first heard about the singer / songwriter / band leader, it was only in the terms of this bad shit. “Man, this guy’s been through it,” they said. “He’s seen it, he’s lived it and now he sings about it in his music.”

Lived through what? I had this picture of a junkie bunked out under an interstate off-ramp in a cardboard box or on his knees shaking a stained Dixie cup begging for dope money.

The truth was less dramatic. He did go through some bad shit, but he’s better now. It didn’t happen here; it happened when he was living in Ames, Iowa, in the early part of this decade. “I did a lot of hanging out, a lot of partying,” he said. “I was engaged to be married and then the shit hit the fan in all those regards.”

His partying led to the failure of his relationship, which led to harder partying. Just how bad was it? “It wasn’t anything monumental; I wasn’t 98 pounds,” Hawkins said. “I was on the path of losing control. I slowly started realizing the type of people I was hanging around — I wasn’t around them because they were my friends, but because they had stuff and they would share it with me. I kind of realized that I didn’t want to become these people.”

So he moved to Omaha. It wasn’t his first choice. The plan was for him and his roommate to move to Hollywood — a decision based on a 3 a.m. conversation after a few days of partying. Instead, Hawkins’ brother Jamie suggested he pack up and move in with him in Omaha. “He knew what was going on and said I could stay with him as long as I needed to. He gave me a lifeline and some security.”

Music wasn’t even in the picture. Hawkins had been in a few bands in Ames (“none worth mentioning”), but that had fallen to the side during his party years. Now in Omaha sometime in late 2005 or early 2006, he was living through a string of jobs — telemarketing, then slot attendant and eventually blackjack dealer at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, a job that depressed him so much that he hated getting up in the morning. After he was fired, he went back to telemarketing, and then waiting tables at Perkins. He’s now at Dietze Music, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Music slowly eked back into Hawkins’ life. After hearing him play in her living room, a friend suggested he perform at a birthday gig at a local school. On her own volition, she launched a Myspace page for him. “I thought it was totally ridiculous,” Hawkins said. “I thought Myspace was a tweener past-time, what kids did.” But that Myspace page would become a conduit for meeting other local musicians.

Kyle Harvey, the label executive behind Slo-Fidelity Records, first heard Hawkins play a solo show at The Foundry. Harvey and Hawkins began to correspond via e-mail, along with Midwest Dilemma’s Justin Lamoureux, and before long, Hawkins found himself entrenched in the Benson singer-songwriter scene.

“Knowing them motivated me to play out more,” Hawkins said. “Instead of playing in some school conference room, they were helping me get shows at bars.”

On his debut album, titled there there, now… / i think it’s best… (if i leave), Hawkins goes by It’s True — the name has to do with his psychedelic past and his definition of reality, which boils down to: “Any form of truth is a representation of that ultimate truth.”

Self-recorded on a four-track in bedrooms over the past couple years, the album is solo-acoustic folk sung in Hawkins’ dreamy croon, strong on melody and meaning. The lyrics are straightforward and painfully honest, obviously candid, and probably written from a place that you don’t want to go. But at the same time, it’s up-tempo and touchingly positive.

“Negativity can quickly get corny and self serving,” Hawkins said. “Not a lot of people want to hear you complain about your life unless there’s some deeper resonance. I want to be positive, but that doesn’t mean that I always want to sing about rainbows and sunshine.”

He said he never intended to release the songs until Kyle Harvey asked him to. “They were rough drafts,” Hawkins said. “I wanted to put a band together and rerecord them, and then time passed. It was actually keeping me from writing new stuff. Kyle said to just release them as they are.” Good call. The austere production adds to the music’s simple honesty.

Hawkins is celebrating the CD’s release this Saturday night at The Barley St. Tavern with fellow songwriters Kyle & Kat, Ben Seiff, John Klemmensen and Kendra Senick (Cat Island).

He said he has another group of “wordier songs, less melodic, more rambling” that he may record as an EP someday. Or he may not. Hawkins is content going with the flow.

“Right now, the plan is to get the band up to par. And that’s all in terms of ambition. I know the guys would really like to record something, and I would, too.”

But Hawkins said anytime he tries to do something deliberately, it doesn’t work out, and he gets frustrated. Better to take it one day at a time. “I’m not trying to avoid disappointment. Things just seem to turn out better that way.”

* * *

It’s another hopping night in Benson tonight. Over at The Waiting Room, Fucked Up headlines a show with Dance Me Pregnant. Here’s what I said about FU’s Matador Records release The Chemistry of Common Life back in December:

The vocals aren’t so much Cookie Monster as they are an Andrew W.K. rip — over the top, slightly out of control, in your face. But not Cookie Monster — that term is forever reserved for the vacuous metal-esque goon-rock bands that litter high-NRG Nickelback stations (in Omaha, 89.7 The River). Fucked Up isn’t “goon,” and you would never confuse it with metal or, really, even punk (though it is loud and obnoxious). This is spaz rock in that AWK-vein. Overbearing and sometimes annoying, it’s best served in small doses. That, along with odd tangents like space instrumentals “Golden Seal” and “Looking for God” — that owe as much to Pink Floyd as anything punk –are enough to make this worth checking out.

I think it could be entertaining, if not ear-bleedingly loud. $8, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, down at The Barley Street Tavern, Brimstone Howl plays with Rock Paper Dynamite and Watching the Trainwreck. $5, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Here is a handful of notable news from the web:

I was just reading an article in Rolling Stone about how Live Nation was supposed to bring down the cost of tickets — specifically service charges — when they began selling them. Of course they didn’t. And now comes news yesterday that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have proposed a merger. Best line in the AP article: “‘Ticketmaster does not set prices. Live Nation does not set ticket prices. Artists set the prices,’ (Ticketmaster CEO Barry Diller) said, without mentioning the ticket surcharges Ticketmaster relies on for much of its revenue.” Looks like the Justice Dept is going to get involved. The Boss already has, according to this update: “‘The one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near-monopoly situation in music ticketing,’ Springsteen said on his Web site.” I’m happy I don’t go to arena shows anymore. Now if we can just keep these thieves out of the clubs.

* * *

For those of you who don’t get the OWH, there was another detailed write-up about vinyl’s increased popularity in the Sunday edition, this time written by Kevin Coffey. The OWH has printed three or four of these stories over the past three or four years, and for my money, they never get old. Interviewed this time were Spencer Munson (DJ Spence), Homer’s Mike Fratt, and Drastic Plastic’s Neil Azevedo. There’s also a companion piece about vinyl fans’ favorite vinyl here. Coffey left out his favorites. My favorite vinyl is anything by Led Zeppelin. While I’ve acquired most of the Zeppelin catalog digitally, there’s just something special about listening to Zeppelin I or III on vinyl. Hmmm, seems like I predicted the return of vinyl in 2007 (along with everyone else). For serious music fans, vinyl is still the best value, especially for new albums because they almost always come with a CDR for downloading.

* * *

Speaking of free stuff, the fine folks at Alive Records have issues a 2009 sampler and they’re giving it away for free digitally at Amazon right here. The sampler includes tracks by Hacienda, Outrageous Cherry, Buffalo Killers and Lincoln’s own Brimstone Howl.

* * *

There’s a notable happening going on tonight but it’s by invitation only, so I don’t know if I can tell you about it or not. It involves Brad Hoshaw and his band and the debut of his new full-length album. Look, if you stumble around Benson long enough tonight you’re bound to find it. Consider it a treasure hunt.

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Tomorrow’s column: A profile of Adam Hawkins.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

There was no update yesterday because of a mechanical breakdown of the ol’ Sidekick. In fact, I thought it was going to start on fire. The tow-truck/repair scenario wiped out my lunch hour, but ol’ trusty is back and running again, and so is this here blog.

Some weekend thoughts — The Hyannis CD release show at Slowdown Friday night was well attended and the band sounded okay — kind of like a hippie band without the hippies. The CD’s liner notes indicate the band has four members plus a cello player, but I only counted three on stage during their set, and that might account for the overall hollowness. Their sound is more pleasantly filled-out on In a Car, their self-released LP that I’m listening to as I type this. They appear to be going for a yesteryear sound that falls somewhere between Syd-era Pink Floyd and The Stooges. Frontman Joey Bonacci has a voice that fits his first name — high, kinda quirky and unforgettable in a strange way. I would tell people who were at the show that they really need to check out the disc since it’s probably a more accurate portrayal of the band, but they all got free copies at the door so they already know this. I’d like to hear how Hyannis sounds with their full contingent.

We drove over to Pizza Shoppe Saturday night for dinner, and on stage in the room next door was the gospel choir that performed at the OEA’s. Unbelievably, they all fit on PS Collective’s stage and didn’t blow the lid off the room — nice background music for my garlic bread. We then drove down to Saddle Creek Bar for 49 Cents (both T and I follow UNO Mavericks basketball, and former power forward Ryan Curtis is in the band), but quickly discovered that instead of being first, that they were going to be last, and I knew we’d never make it to the end. When we left after the first set, I noticed that every table in SCB was filled. I also drove by the bar last Saturday night and saw that its parking lot was jammed. Has SCB finally turned the corner in attracting a crowd?

* * *

One Percent Productions announced a new batch of shows last night, the most interesting of which are Tricky March 15 at Slowdown, another Faint show March 31 at Sokol (come on guys, play somewhere else), and that Beep Beep release show at The Waiting Room April 4. The upcoming Conor show at Slowdown sold out over the weekend.

* * *

Anyone know if the Tim Kasher listed with the music credit on the film My Suicide (reviewed here) is that Tim Kasher?

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

I checked out The Sydney last night for the first time since it switched over from Mick’s, and I definitely give it a thumb’s up. The place looks distinctively different — more open and yet more comfortable. I walked around trying to figure out what they did other than throw up a fresh coat of paint. There are fewer tables than before, and the raised stage has been replaced with a “stage” that stands about three inches from the floor. I always thought the old stage was too high and probably added to the room’s acoustic problems. One of the owners told me they wanted to take the stage out altogether until they discovered that the flooring beneath it was messed up. Overall, The Sydney feels more like a saloon than a neighborhood bar, thanks to its high ceilings and dim lighting. One somewhat strange side note — I was there from 8:30 to around 11 and didn’t see a single woman walk through the door (I described it as a “sausage party” to Teresa, who had no idea what I was talking about). I assume this will change after bar’s grand opening in early March. PS: I can’t wait to see the first live show there.

* * *

Looks like Nik Fackler‘s debut film, Lovely, Still, has found international sales and Canadian distribution, according to this item in IndieWire. The distributor is Cinemavault, based out of Toronto. “With the producers currently in post-production on the new cut, Cinemavault is presenting the film at the European Film Market and will be premiering the final version at the Cannes Film Market,” says Indiewire.

* * *

Sarah Benck sent out an email yesterday saying that her band is dropping “…and The Robbers” portion of their name. From now on, they’re simply known as Sarah Benck. People poo-poo the importance of a band’s name, but the fact is it impacts everyone’s first impressions. “Sarah Benck and the Robbers” had a cheesy connotation to it from the beginning; it sounded like someone you’d hear at a Holiday Inn Lounge. This name change is a long time coming.

* * *

Lots of chatter about yesterday’s column on the webboard. Check it out and add to it.

* * *

So what’s going on tonight?

— The Hyannis CD release show at Slowdown Jr. with Brimstone Howl, The Night Gallery and Outlaw Con Bandana. Everyone gets a free copy of the Hyannis CD with their $5 admission. Show starts at 9.

— Domestica plays at O’Leaver’s with Techlepathy and Wagon Blasters. $5, 9:30 p.m.

— Brad Hoshaw and The Seven Deadlies opens for Kris Lager Band at The Waiting Room. $7, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Today’s column is self-explanatory. I think I’ve mentioned this before — Ten years ago or so, Robb Nansel of Saddle Creek Records told me something that a major label honcho told him. He said if you’re still involved with music when you’re 30, you’re going to be involved with music the rest of your life. Truer words were never spoken…

Column 208: Greasy Kid’s Stuff
Age and music.

I was feeling just fine about everything until Barack decided to join in with his “Let us set aside childish things” rant during the inauguration. What exactly was he saying? Who was he talking to?

After awhile, it does begin to pile up. The whole age thing never occurs to me unless someone else mentions it — directly or indirectly.

Last week a friend who works at The City Weekly pointed out that Mike Fratt “went after me” in his column. Really? By name? No, he never used your name, my friend said. He merely referenced “Omaha’s own aging indie-hipster blogger street weekly writer…” I was flattered that Mike would think anyone would even know who he was talking about (and without that knowledge, a reader would think Fratt was being self-deprecating instead of just snarky — he is, after all, considerably older than I am).

A week before that, I was at a local watering hole listening to a band when one of the city’s better musicians said, not off-handedly, “Why would a 20-year-old want to know what a 40-year-old guy thinks about new music?” He was making a point about himself, of course; about how he thinks no one cares what his favorite music was from 2008 (but we do). I’m sure the fact that I’m in my 40s and still write about indie music never crossed his mind. Did it?

And then there was the time I was speaking in front of a class alongside a former mover-and-shaker in local music retail. I asked him what he thought of Saddle Creek Records. He said he only listens to blues these days. “I outgrew that stuff a long time ago.”

It comes down to the notion that rock music — specifically new rock music — should only be enjoyed by young people. That people beyond their 20s (some say beyond their teens) should have moved on from listening to rock or any music for that matter.

I remember as a teen-ager listening to albums with my headphones on, wondering how much I’d miss it when I got older because, well, “old people” don’t listen to music. Certainly my dad didn’t.

That same backward thinking applies to rock shows — when are you too old to go see a band (other than a dinosaur act at the Qwest Center)? Is it when your friends quit going to shows? Or when you have kids and reprioritize your life so that music no longer plays a role? I can’t speak to the issue of getting married and having a family. I can say that a lot of people I know put music away when their children arrived, and use their family life as an excuse for not going out any more (or doing anything creative, for that matter). And that’s fine. Chances are even if they didn’t have kids they would have quit going to shows anyway. Rare is the person who can continue to “get into” new music after they reach their 30s. That’s just the way it is.

I made that point on my blog, and one reader took offense. He said he used to go to shows at The Cog Factory and Kilgore’s before moving to Chicago and getting involved in the music business himself. He ended up in California “…and then, I had kids. Now you can chalk it up as an ‘excuse’ to ‘quit’ the pursuit of music-passion (or other cultural endeavors), but I actually blame it as much on not only a re-prioritizing of priorities as I do finances,” he said in an email. “When you’ve got a young mouth (or in my case two young mouths) to feed, given the choice between buying groceries or going out to a club to see a band play and then proceed to spend $25 on drinks….well, the choice should be pretty clear.”

I guess it’s like those commercial say: “Having a baby changes everything.” I don’t doubt that. Still, this guy said he continues to subscribe to Magnet and The Big Takeover, and makes notes about bands that might interest him. That alone makes him a rarity. Because most people that I know who have kids go home after work and sit in front of the TV for five hours and then go to sleep. Every night. They feel entitled. They’ve worked hard all day, they want to come home and “unwind.” These are people in their late 20s and 30s (and 40s). And before they know it, they’re in their 50s and 60s and then they’re dead. But, dammit, they accomplished something. They raised those kids. And that’s more than I can say for myself.

Would I still be going to shows if I had kids? Well, not 80 to 100 shows a year, but yeah, I’d like to think that I’d definitely make it out at least a couple times a month. But we’ll never know.

Age isn’t so much a state of mind as it is surrendering to a state of mind. I don’t think my personal writing guru, former Village Voice columnist and now Rolling Stone critic Robert Christgau, who’ll turn 67 in April, thought for a second about what was appropriate for someone his age to listen to when he was reviewing the latest albums by Glasvegas (which he gave in A) or Jay Reatard (which he gave an A-). Is he worried that a 20-year-old might scoff at his opinion? I don’t think it crossed his mind. It certainly doesn’t cross mine when I’m writing about the new Animal Collective or Ladyfinger CDs or watching Stolen Kisses or Perry H. Matthews.

Nor should it. Rock was never meant to be only a young man’s game. Just ask this aging indie-hipster blogger street weekly writer.

There’s a show tonight at the Waiting Room worth checking out: Landing on the Moon and Anniversaire opening for The Envy Corps. $7, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, folkie balladeer (when he’s not shredding in Techlepathy) Lincoln Dickison is opening for Son of 76 and the Watchmen tonight at The Barley St. Tavern. Techlepathy will be on stage tomorrow night at O’Leaver’s along with Domestica and Wagon Blasters.

Which reminds me, a reader commented on yesterday’s blog entry, telling me that record label Speed! Nebraska has Lincoln bands on its roster that play in Omaha all the time, including Domestica, Brimstone Howl, Ideal Cleaners and the Mezcal Bros. This reader also included The Wagon Blasters (whose members include Lincolnite Bill Thornton), but I’m not aware of any Wagon Blasters releases on Speed! Nebraska Records. Something tells me that that’s gonna change…

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

A few weeks ago I was asked some questions about Benson from Daily Nebraskan reporter Jeremy Buckley. You might also know Jeremy as the organizer of the wildly successful Lincoln Calling festival. I’ve been asking Jeremy for a few years to put together a similar festival called Lincoln Invasion, where he brings all the hot Lincoln bands to Omaha for a night or two. We don’t get enough exposure to Lincoln’s music here in Omaha, which makes no sense to me at all. Come on, Jeremy, let’s get this done.

Anyway, I asked Jeremy last night what happened to that article, and he finally sent me a link. Also interviewed was Homer’s general manager and Benson resident Mike Fratt, and the proprietor of One Percent Productions and The Waiting Room, Marc Leibowitz. Take a look.

* * *

Saddle Creek Records announced yesterday that the new album by Beep Beep, Enchanted Islands, is slated for release on March 24. Says Saddle Creek: “We guarantee you one of the most interesting listens of your young year. Enchanted Islands will blow your mind in different ways…from insane guitar playing to soon-to-be-classic melody to just plain oddness. It’s the whole package.” Creek also announced Beep Beep’s spring tour, which includes a show at The Waiting Room April 4. They’ll also be playing at South by Southwest this year.

* * *

And speaking of SXSW, I’ll be attending my first SXSW Festival this March. As a result, you’ll be seeing full coverage before, during and after the festival right here at Lazy-i. It’ll be just like being there…

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Ladyfinger’s new LP, Dusk, dropped today on Saddle Creek Records. The CD is more up-tempo, more “tuneful” than Heavy Hands, which on some level, was actually a bit, well, heavy handed. What a difference dynamics makes. Take “Little Things,” for instance, a track that bleeds to nothing before blowing up in your face. “Read the Will” simmers until it reaches a boiling point halfway through then spills all over the floor. So does “Plans,” which would be my pick as the album single. Ladyfinger may have sounded like two feral cats in a burlap sack before, now they sound like indie buzzsaw-rock pioneers. Omaha’s version of Helmet or Queens of the Stone Age? I don’t know about that.

The question is what will it take for this record to break through to an audience that eluded Heavy Hands? A brief tour with Little Brazil is a fun start, though you could argue that neither band is building on the other’s “big following.” They’re slated to play with Cursive in Tempe in March. I’m guessing that they’ll be at SXSW. What they need is a few months on tour opening for someone that’s huge in a Foo Fighters sort of way. How does that happen? It doesn’t, not for an indie band. In lieu of that, Ladyfinger will have to hit the road for months and months and miles and miles at a time this year. Are they up to the challenge?

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Saddle Creek Records, Cursive and their publicist finally have given details on Mama, I’m Swollen, the band’s new full length. The release date is March 10 on Saddle Creek, of course (did you ever doubt?). The album was recorded last summer at ARC. According to the press release: “Wrestling with life’s miseries and mysteries, Mama, I’m Swollen is an album brimming with the universal, questioning the human condition, social morality, and the ‘Peter Pan Syndrome’ of grown men.” Not sure what that last part means, but I assume it’s PR-speak for “It rocks!” The band’s headed back to NYC in early March and then out west for a few shows, and of course, SXSW.

* * *

My thoughts on the Super Bowl: Arizona’s defense choked on that last drive; and the bizarre pick for a touchdown at the end of the first half was nothing less than the Hand of the Football Gods making their wishes known.

As for halftime, I thought Bruce’s performance was fine, a bit cheesy, but fine. I would have placed “Working on a Dream” in the middle and closed with “Born to Run,” but Bruce seemed to know what he was doing (I also could have done without “It’s Boss time!” but that’s quibbling). So the list goes, Springsteen this year, before that, Tom Petty, Prince, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and then the infamous Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson’s tit debacle. U2 played it in 2002 (the Super Bowl, not Janet’s nipple). The full list is here.

Who’s left? Well, there’s Dylan — imagine how that would go over with the Super Bowl crowd. Zeppelin would be a natural, but that’s out. That leaves Elton John/Billy Joel, Madonna, AC/DC, Metallica or someone from the C&W world. My suggestion: The Flaming Lips — though completely unknown to the average football fan, Wayne Coyne could put on a spectacle that would never be forgotten. Instead, if Fox is broadcasting the game next year (I’m not sure who has the rights), look for an American Idol medley of “stars.” Ugh.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—